This Report, by the Aspen Institute provides some good points about how to recruit, support and develop the best quality teachers. The model is… Singapore. Interesting.

Key points include high standards and professional (rather than self) selectivity, as well as strategic use of financial resources, including throughout the teacher education process/ college and ongoing career development and long term professional investment throughout the course of a career.

There seems to be a reluctance to share proposed budget details with the public here. To pull out of this depression/ recession/ economic black hole, we need ALL options on the table. And to have all options on the table means having all information available to everybody. (more…)

If the funding formulas and revenue streams aren’t confusing enough, this article clearly illustrates the ridiculous. That school funding is somehow tied into public transportation fees is absurd. Both public schools and public transportation are worthy endeavors with benefits tangible and otherwise. To have one at the expense of the other challenges how much public benefit we can achieve. It also further stresses an already difficult upstate/ downstate political dynamic.

There are many details to be worked out, but the consolidation of school districts/ district services is encouraging.

These administrators are willing to look at their salaries and benefits and make concessions in order to make the budget numbers work better. Kudos. (more…)

It seems that the stimulus package will avoid layoffs in our local schools. From an employment standard, this is good news. But essentially a large part of the stimulus will supplement shrinking local and state funds to retain public sector jobs. I’m glad that our school budgets won’t be bludgeoned for the time being. The long term problems are not going to be solved without hard work at changing the budget structure. If we don’t take a more comprehensive approach to reforming education, including how it is funded, we will be facing even more dire budgetary woes in relatively short order. We need to take this opportunity to put real planning resources into solutions for long term, public education sustainability.

The Kingston City School District, the largest in our county, is a mix of urban and suburban populations, with many elementary schools, two middle schools and one central high school. Here is what community members have been looking at as options for budget cuts. It should be noted the difficulty of this conversation in that costs must be looked at in perspective - long term vs. short term. Examples in the article include reading recovery and sports. The former is expensive, but if it is not in place, long term costs could balloon. Sports can be costly to provide, but they have societal and educational implications to be considered. There are no easy answers.

School budgets, just like municipal, small business and family/ household budgets, are facing cuts. According to the NYS Division of the budget, approximately 43% of school district funds come from the state, 49% of revenues are raised locally and the feds make up the difference. This varies slightly from district to district but is a good estimation. (more…)

Mayoral control of the NYC school system is once again on the table. The NYS legislature must authorize whether or not the Mayor is the head of the schools and appoints the Chancellor. Proponents feel that this provides for the highest level of accountability and oversight, especially since the City budget provides a large amount of the school funding. Mayoral control eliminates some of the overlap in governance. Critics feel that the mayor does not have the strong education based credentials and enabling such control lends itself more to politics than policy, shutting out key constituents. The argument is that schools are an institution like no other, and basic principles of business and government aren’t always feasible or applicable, thus the management structure requires qualified, credentialed personnel.

Not everyone feels that way. (more…)

My friend’s sons attend the local public school system. The younger one is in kindergarten this year. Last night over dinner we discussed the repeated absence of his teacher and its impact on his reading level. (more…)